Big A HG

The article was a great complement to all North Dakotans. The only thing that scares me is that word may catch on with people from other parts of the country who aren't hard-working or try to come in and implement ideas that are completely opposite of what North Dakota needs. Hoeven for President.

Doesn't look like Vande Velde made the opening day roster. I'm sure he'll get his chance, but it won't be immediately. http://oilers.nhl.com/club/roster.htm Great Toews commercial by the way

Since I didn't see it mentioned, I thought I'd point out that there was one regular-season game already underway this past weekend in college hockey. #4 ranked Michigan took on Mercyhurst and it started out as one would expect. Michigan went up 4-0 in the 2nd period, controlling most of the game. However, Mercyhurst pots a goal going into the 2nd intermission, than runs off 3 more goals in the 3rd period. The game ended in a 4-4 tie.

They've done that every year for the first game of the season as long as I can remember. Things will be back to normal when they return home for their first real games.

UAA - 3 UND - 2 UAF 1 UND - 5 I know UAF is the better team, but I think UND will need some time to get their legs under them up there. UAA wins a close one by keeping it physical, but UND dominates UAF.

The Ralph looks empty, even for a Manitoba game.

If Hakstol ever left or got fired (for reasons unknown), this might be a good successor to him. I like Brian's style.

You said 7-2 in your other thread.

For all we know, it could have been Kristo's first time ever having a drink...not likely, but you never know. What if it was one sip of his first beer ever, and bam, got busted? Does that make him a bad guy? I don't know the situation, so I'll hold off judgment.

So, I went to the Fargo Force game in Green Bay tonight. Got to see Colten St. Clair and Zane Gothberg (warmups only for Zane tonight). It was a rematch of last year's Championship, so both teams were grinding hard. First, Colten was a smooth, quick skater, with soft hands and a quick, hard release. He reminds me a lot of a right-handed Jason Gregoire, except Colten takes faceoffs too. He can be flashy, but more often-than-not, makes the right play. Colten ended up winning the game in OT with a strong move to the net and a nice play to finish. I can't wait to see him play at North Dakota. Zane looked a bit off. Didn't seem to be seeing the puck real well in warmups, but it was only that, warmups. He's still young and will get up to speed with the pace of the USHL, which can be pretty quick at times.

We'll call it a traveling trophy...

Evidence: Kristo Partying Pic

Achorage loses defenseman Kane Lafranchise for the first semester due to academic ineligibility http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,18778/AnchorageDefensemanLafranchiseOutforFirstSemester.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+USCHOnews+%28USCHO.com+News%29 A team in the process of building its program takes a pretty big hit with this one considering Kane was their best offensive defenseman last year.

Whether or not Vande makes it this year, I think he'll get his chance. He's a well-rounded player; strong with the puck, not a flashy scorer but can bury it when his opportunities are there, wins faceoffs, and can definitely hold his own defensively. Chris craking the lineup in his first year would be stellar.

Yeah, 1) You can't sit MacWilliam 2) You'd be making it pretty hard on your goalie to have two freshmen on the same D pairing...unless they got caught up to speed quicker than most rookie WCHA Defensemen (which is possible with their skill sets), so I doubt Hak would ever put both on the ice at the same time

There was a method to my PREDICTED D-corps pairings. I wanted to leave MacWilliam and Blood together, seeing as they were together most of last year. Plus, it's just fun to see the two Bash Brothers out there going up against some of the better lines in the conference. Everyone knows Marto and LaPoint will be a pairing seeing as they have been for a couple years now (again, not sure if Marto can/will play Sunday, but if he can, he'll be LaPoint's partner). So, that leaves the Genoway paring. I thought Forbort was the best choice. He has the size and defensive-mindedness to backup Genoway's offensive prowess, but Forbort also brings the offensive capabilities to complement Genoway's skills. Also, with Genoway being a [super] Senior, he'll be a good veteran presence out there to help Forbort get up to speed. So, that leaves Simpson and Gleason out at the moment. Everyone knows Simpson is a stud, but he's still only 17, so that makes him a wild card right now. He may still need some developing, but he may be ready to dominate the WCHA from the get-go...I think he'll need a few months to adjust. Gleason is the odd-man out, but that's why he is now listed as a F/D instead of just a D. He's good enough to get playing time, so I hope we see him in there more than just a little. Things will change so much during the game. You'll see a lot of the forward lines and defensive pairings change throughout the game, so this is more of a prediction for next week's opening Alaska Tourney than anything.

Yeah, I figured so much, but a lot of guys (ala Oshie) were centers but moved to a winger position for at least a year. Don't quote me, but I believe the same happened with Toews. I think Hak prefers to have experience in the faceoff circles because they can be a huge factor in a game. Nelson may be ready for that role immediately, or may not be, we don't know yet I guess. My gut tells me that by mid-season, he will probably be a full-time center. Also, keep in mind, Hak does a TON of line changing each game until around New Years, then he has his lines set pretty well for the rest of the season, and then the patented 2nd half run ensues. Gregoire has played center too, has he not? He might end up playing in a role like that as well. Guys who seem to take in each minute detail and are technically proficient seem to do well in that center position, and Gregoire certainly fits that billing.

OK, I'll play. Now, there will be extra skaters so these will vary quite a bit throughout the game, but here's what I foresee. Gregoire - Knight - Kristo Trupp - Malone - Frattin Nelson - Lamoureux - Hextall Cichy - Rowney - Bruneteau Forbort - Genoway Blood - MacWilliam Simpson - LaPoint (Marto replaces Simpson if he is able to play...not sure what his injury status is). Eidsness Dell Belfour I don't know how, but we have 7 awesome defensemen...which means someone will have to sit. I think Forbort and Simpson will rotate in that final spot barring injury. Hak seems to like a puck mover with a defender on each defensive pairing, so I kept it true to form there for the most part. The team lacks depth in the center position, which could hurt us. That was a strong suit last year, but losing two huge guys at that position in Zajac and Vande Velde will hurt. Malone has proven to be great there, but Knight is still relatively inexperienced, and Lamoureux doesn't scare too many opponents offensively, and that only covers three lines. Not knowing much about Rodwell, but has he played center in juniors? If so, that might be a huge asset. Team POY - Chay is the easy pick, but I think Jason Gregoire will be right up there at the end of the year. DOY - Chay, Blood as the runner up. ROY - Nelson Most Improved - Michael Cichy MOY - Eades (mustache of the year) The Kyle Radke Award for being the other team's worst nightmare - Andrew MacWilliam FIGHTING SIOUX 8 BISONS 1

I was thinking Bob Norton myself...that guy hates any hockey team west of New England.

I think this is the link you are looking for: http://pentictonvees.podbean.com/2010/09/15/the-big-mac-millan-burger-burger-55/

Time for a Photoshop?

I'm not much of a predictions guy, but there were many great memories I had in the few short years of being a Sioux fan. My fondest was in Madison, at the 2008 Regional championship when we beat Wisconsin in OT on their home ice to go to a 4th straight Frozen Four, and getting our 3rd chance in as many years to take down B*ston C*llege. Too bad it didn't end the way we wanted.

Yeah, I figured that would be the case with the dates...I wanted to do a little more of an actual "calendar" but figured it'd be too small on a lot of screens, so I did the bars. Also, I knew it would be a problem for some people having the games on the left side, but I didn't want to put them on the right because it looks visually "wrong" to have Kristo skating off the screen than towards the middle of it. I can try making a few tweaks and seeing where it goes.

I've now added a Widescreen version, and I've also uploaded a version of each without the calendar option. Kristo - October 2010 - Widescreen http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7899/october2010ws.png Kristo - Widescreen (No calendar) http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8171/kristows.png Kristo - Standard Screen (No calendar) http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/728/kristo.png I'll learn from my mistakes with this one, so hopefully the future ones are better. Enjoy